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A Dark, Slimy Path

Mother said,
"Straight ahead,"
Not to delay
Or be misled.
I should have heeded her advice...
But he seemed so nice.
And he showed me things,
Many beautiful things,
That I hadn't thought to explore.
They were off my path,
So I never had dared.
I had been so careful
I never had cared.
And he made me feel excited-
Well, excited and scared.
When he said, "come in!"
With that sickening grin,
How could I know what was in store?
Once his teeth were bared,
Though, I really felt scared-
Well, excited and scared-
But he drew me close
And he swallowed me down,
Down a dark slimy path
Where lie secrets that I never want to know,
And when everything familiar
Seemed to disappear forever,
At the end of the path
Was granny once again.
So we wait in the dark
Until someone sets us free,
And we're brought into the light,
And we're back at the the start.
And I know things now,
Many valuable things.
That I hadn't known before.
Do not put your faith in a cape and a hood,
They will not protect you
The way that they should.
And take extra care with strangers,
Even flowers have their dangers.
And though scary is exciting,
Nice is different from good.
Now I know:
Don't be scared.
Granny is right,
Just be prepared.
Isn't it nice to know a lot!
And a little bit not...




Stephen Sondheim once wrote a Taylor Swift song. It's called "I Know Things Now," and it's Little Red Ridinghood's anthem from "Into the Woods." It's a Hero's Journey Tale. Sent on a mission by Mother, LRR meets a trickster. "I should have heeded Mom's advice--but he seemed so nice." (This is a song about niceness; the word will recur, memorably, twice, at the end of the number. Also, it has a link with "The Last Midnight," and the Witch's observation: "You're so nice. You're not good, you're not bad; you're just nice. I'm not good; I'm not nice; I'm just right. I'm the Witch. You're the world.")

On her journey, LRR encounters new friends: "Many beautiful things that I hadn't thought to explore." The song has the quietly brilliant line: "I had been so careful, I never had cared." In other words, LRR's A-student cautiousness has kept her from fully experiencing the wild world. There's a tension between the need to be good and the need to live. It's a difficult balance. Life is both exciting and scary; it provokes ambivalence; the teetering between the excitement and the horror is the main source of interest and suspense in this song. (Another anthem of ambivalence! Think of "Sorry-Grateful" or "Could I Leave You?" or "The Glamorous Life.")

The trickster reveals his true colors. The language becomes faintly sexual: "He said COME IN with that sickening grin." "Once his teeth were bared, I felt scared--EXCITED and scared." "He swallowed me down a dark slimy path where lie secrets that I never want to know." The virginal LRR is assaulted. "Everything familiar" has disappeared. Lost in darkness, LRR waits, and a kind of savior figure finally restores her to life. (It's notable that the savior figure does not at all attract LRR's attention. He's just "someone," he's boring. It's the Wolf that really captures LRR's fancy. Such is the subversive power of Sondheim.) Having escaped the poisonous Enchanted World, LRR considers the elixir she has obtained--her new-found knowledge. "Do not place your faith in a cape and a hood; they will not protect you the way that they should." (No one is ever safe.) "Even flowers have their dangers." (This is a show in which beauty is linked with peril; the Act-Two Witch is enchanting; the heartless princes are easy on the eyes.) "Though scary is exciting, nice is different from good." (Such a complex line. Previously, LRR has been identifying her experiences as scary AND exciting. Now, she erases the distinction: scary IS exciting. "Let the moment go; don't forget it for a moment, though." Thrilling experience comes with a cost. While scary and exciting are one and the same--something we might not always acknowledge--nice and good are two different things. We tend to conflate them. They exist on separate planets, often, and Sondheim provides the reminder.)

This song has a perfect ending--an encapsulation of a career-long dialogue Sondheim has had with himself. "Isn't it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not." Knowledge is neither purely good nor purely bad. It's a gray, murky mess--as most things in this solar system are. Sondheim finds the beating heart in the LRR story and makes you relate deeply to the protagonist--and maybe you hadn't before. Notice, also, her crisp, pithy declarations; form follows content; LRR is a fast-thinking, subtle pragmatist, and her assertive, fast-moving manner of speaking underlines the fact. Do you love this song as much as I do? Do you feel like you're looking at your own life story when you look at Sondheim's words?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ-f6C3sCf0


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